“Role of the media in enhancing accountability on women, peace and security commitments in Africa”

Madam Chair, Members of the Council, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;

We, media practioners from different parts of Africa, including Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda, representing the breadth of media, including private and public local radio, print, broadcast, and new media, gathered on the 18th to 19th October 2016 in Addis Ababa;

Under the auspices of the Office of the Special Envoy on Women Peace and Security of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) in partnership with UN Women, we convened to discuss Gender-Responsive Reporting in Conflict, Post-Conflict, and Fragile Settings.

We recognize the continued commitment of the AU to mainstream gender into all the work of the PSC, to ‘Silence the Guns’ by 2020, and the aspirations embedded in Agenda 2063;

Note the designation of 2016 as the “Year of Human Rights, with a Particular Focus on the Rights of Women”;

Appreciate the opportunity to address the African Union Peace and Security Council on issues of peace in general and the ‘Role of the media in enhancing accountability on women, peace and security commitments in Africa’ in particular;

Stress the importance of an enabling environment for the media to play a positive role as agents of peace;

Note increasing pressure on freedom of expression and censorship efforts in many contexts-including on social media, and the need for access to information;

Express concern about the safety and security of media personnel across the continent, particularly that of women journalists.

Over the course of the two-day convening, we identified and discussed critical challenges facing gender-responsive media on the continent. These include the underrepresentation of affected women’s voices, expertise, and women covering issues of peace and security; the continued stigmatization of women and stereotypical portrayal of women in conflict reporting; lack of women in leadership and editorial decision-making positions within media organizations; and ethical considerations that come with reporting of conflict and engaging with survivors of violence;

We recognize that the media has a critical role to play in pushing a progressive agenda on women, peace, and security by engaging in gender aware coverage of peace and security issues;

Understand the need to formulate new narratives when telling African stories on women peace and security by documenting the diversity of women’s stories, telling not just stories of victimhood but also stories of leadership, peacebuilding, and positive agents for social change;

Commit to adhering to ethical principles, such as do no harm and prevention of secondary victimization of women who have already suffered, and actively seeking the voices of those who are not normally heard;

Also commit to working through this nascent network of reporters for women, peace, and security to promote gender responsive reporting; to push for justice, and broader accountability for women, peace, and security commitments; and raise awareness and sensitize citizens through our reporting.

In conclusion,

We call on the Council to ensure that Member States protect the safety of journalists;

We encourage the Council to maintain dialogue with the media, during their field missions as well as broader issue based engagement;

We call also on the Council to and the media in their oversight role in ensuring women’s greater participation during mediation processes, conflict prevention efforts, and post conflict reconstruction and recovery as well as their protection and the prevention of sexual and gender based violence.

Nairobi, October 2016 — AMI will be joining an African media team for a weeklong visit to Turkey in November to attend an economic and business forum and hold discussions with government officials and private sector representatives.

The November 2-3 Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum is jointly organized by the African Union Commission, Turkey’s Ministry of Economy, the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM). According to Turkish ambassador Deniz Eke, it “will provide a unique platform for the business circles of Turkey and African countries to create a long lasting Cooperation”.

The media team’s itinerary will involve coverage of the two-day forum and meetings with officials at the ministries of Economy and of Foreign Affairs, General Directorate for Press and Information under the Office of the Prime Minister, Turkey’s official development cooperation agency, think tank SETA (Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research), Public Diplomacy Coordination Office under the Office of the Prime Minister, and private sector representatives.

Port Sudan, October 2016 – Stakeholders in the African maritime industry are coming together for five days in November to explore port strategies for harnessing the African blue economy and investment opportunities.

The organizers of the November 27-December 1 Ports Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa conference, to be held at Port Sudan in Sudan, are promoting it as a landmark maritime event in the region. It follows a similar one held last year in Nairobi, Kenya.

For a brief moment during the technical discussions, delegates will focus on the media and its role in harnessing the blue economy. This is a noticeable inclusion, which was missing in the Nairobi event, and the discussion will be led by the chief executive officer of the African Media Initiative, Eric Chinje.

“I am very excited about this conference because, at long last, the industry seems to have realised the missing link in its efforts to position the maritime sector as a key driver of economic growth,” Chinje told AMI staff when he received the invitation. “That missing link,” he added, “is the media, and I shall demonstrate that crucial detail at the Port Sudan conference.”

Nairobi, October 2016 — The German Foreign Office is sponsoring a conference in Nairobi on media coverage of migration. The event will also be used to launch the results of a comparative analysis of media coverage of migration issues in 12 African and European countries.

The November 28-29 conference will serve “to present a new African-European project in the field of journalism education: Journalism in a Global Context, according to its organizers, African Media Initiative, Africa Positive e.V., and Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism TU Dortmund University, Germany.

Discussions will focus on, among other issues, Migration and the Role of the African Media; Problems in African Media of Covering Migration; and Journalism Education – Key to Better Migration Coverage.

Among the scheduled speakers is Eric Chinje, AMI’s chief executive office, who will deliver the keynote address on Migration and the Role of the African Media. The other listed speakers are:

Media coverage of migration around the world has raised concerns around issues of factual accuracy, biased or insensitive reporting, loaded language and generalizations. Last month, the Ethical Journalism Network launched what it called New guidelines for migration reporting. The Network’s board member, Chris Elliot, who helped develop the guidelines, is quoted on EJN’s site as saying: “Never has there been a greater need for fair, cool and measured reporting of the issues of migration. These five basic principles form a simple set of guidelines for reporters around the world.”

The guidelines

Facts not bias: Are we accurate and have we been impartial, inclusive and fact-based in our reporting?

Know the law: Asylum seeker? Economic migrant? Refugee? Victim of trafficking? Do we understand the terms and communicate the national and international legal rights of immigrants to our audience?

Show humanity: Humanity is at the essence of ethical journalism. But we must keep our emotions in check, avoid victimization, oversimplification and framing of coverage in a narrow humanitarian context that takes no account of the bigger picture.

Speak for all: Do we have migrant voices? Are we listening to the communities they are passing through or joining? Question who representative self-appointed community and migrant spokespeople really are.

Challenge hate: Have we avoided extremism? Have we taken the time to judge whether inflammatory content about migrants or those who seek to limit migration can lead to hatred? Words like “swarms” “floods” and “waves” should be treated with caution, as should indiscriminate use of “racism” and “xenophobia”.

Addis Ababa, October 2016 – The African Union Commission (AUC) Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and UN Women have launched a network of reporters on women, peace and security. This was one of the outcomes of a two-day capacity building workshop on gender-responsive reporting in conflict, post-conflict and fragile settings in Africa.

The workshop, which started on October 18, brought together more than 20 editors, journalists and bloggers, women and men from newspapers, radio, television, and social media who cover conflict-affected countries and regions in Africa. Participants came from Burundi, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra-Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda.

A minute of silence was observed for the late Ambassador Fatoumata Siré Diakité, a renowned Malian woman who dedicated her life protecting women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence.

“We want you to be part of our voices in peacekeeping and peace building. Be agents for change and bring visibility to issues of women’s participation in peace processes and conflict resolutions.” H.E. Mme Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the AUC Chairperson on Women, Peace and Security, told reporters as she launched the workshop.

“The media can create awareness on existing commitments, frameworks as well as gender inequalities. It can bring people together, offer alternatives to violence. It can hold states accountable for commitments. By moving beyond the traditional portrayal of women as victims, the media can change perceptions on women’s participation and leadership and bring stories of women’s activities in conflict prevention and peacebuilding to the fore.” Ms Letty, Chiwara, the UN’s Women Representative to Ethiopia, the AU and the UNECA, noted in her opening remarks.

“War and conflicts attract a lot of media attention. However, much of the focus is put on power politics and ego struggles […]. What our people trapped in conflicts need from leaders is attention to human security issues that affect lives. They need a restoration of peace for efforts to be directed towards the building of schools, hospitals, ensure food security and conducive environments for active citizenship.” Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe stated, on behalf of the AUC Chairperson, H.E. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma.

The African Union declared 2016 “Year of Human rights, with particular focus on women’s rights”. This initiative, which recognizes media as a key partner in advancing the women, peace and security agenda, seeks to empower journalists to respect the dignity of women and recognize women’s contributions to social cohesion and lasting peace in their communities. It will be followed by an AU Peace and Security Council open session on the, “Role of the Media in Enhancing Accountability on Women, Peace, and Security Commitments in Africa.”

Nairobi, October 2016 – A Kenyan research company that partners with AMI in capacity building in the media, is conducting a survey on data availability and what stakeholders need to get their jobs done in order for the continent to achieve its ambitious goals.

The Local Development Research Institute (LDRI) says: “It is necessary for all stakeholders to have access to the data they need . . . Therefore, LDRI and its partners are conducting a survey of the kinds of data that are available versus the data stakeholders need in order to better inform data dissemination efforts in support of the Malabo Declaration.
The survey has been initiated in the context of Africa’s pursuit of “an ambitious agricultural transformation agenda guided by the Malabo Declaration”. A statement from LDRI refers to resilience as one of the focus areas for successful implementation of the Malabo commitments under the CAADP program.
The questionnaire at the link below is part of the survey. The resulting report shall be used to support efforts of both governments and non-state institutions across Africa to make data for agricultural transformation and resilience available to all.

LDRI is a pan-African focused think tank working to building the capacity of both state and non-state actors in addressing the challenges that could prevent us from ending hunger, extreme poverty and inequality in Africa.

Nairobi, October 2016 — The Board and Management of the African Media Initiative (AMI) made a major decision this year to rearrange the organization’s annual calendar in order to create additional space to focus on the expanding range and diversity of media leaders’ concerns and discussions.

One outcome of this was that the African Media Leaders Forum, our flagship event, would now be held every other year, alternating with a major conference on a theme to be determined by media leaders. The theme we settled on for the inaugural conference this year was Reporting Africa (how media covers the continent).

The conference, originally scheduled for November 10-11 in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances and will now be held on December 8-9 along with the Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards ceremony. Entries to the journalism competition have been overwhelming but the initial screening process is now complete.

We will continue to provide updates as the conference date approaches.

Nairobi, October 2016 — The Board and Management of the African Media Initiative (AMI) made a major decision this year to rearrange the organization’s annual calendar in order to create additional space to focus on the expanding range and diversity of media leaders’ concerns and discussions.

One outcome of this was that the African Media Leaders Forum, our flagship event, would now be held every other year, alternating with a major conference on a theme to be determined by media leaders. The theme we settled on for the inaugural conference this year was Reporting Africa (how media covers the continent).

The conference, originally scheduled for November 10-11 in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances and will now be held on December 8-9 along with the Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards ceremony. Entries to the journalism competition have been overwhelming but the initial screening process is now complete.

We will continue to provide updates as the conference date approaches.

Nairobi, 10 October, 2016 — The African Media Initiative (AMI) will work with Spain’s Casa Africa to strengthen relations between Spanish and African media. This was agreed on during an inaugural meeting this week in Madrid of media leaders from Spain and Africa, and senior officials of the Spanish government.

The gathering, convened by Casa Africa, the Canary Island-based department of the Spanish Foreign Ministry responsible for relations with Africa, discussed a range of subjects, including an overview of media in Africa, the coverage of Africa in Spanish media, and culture as a tool for eradicating stereotypes. The Director General of Casa Africa, Luis Padron, stressed the important role that media had to play in strengthening knowledge and understanding of Africa in Spain and vice versa.

“We have a chance here to help structure those conversations that will shape opinion in Spain and Africa, and contribute to a better appreciation of each other’s reality,” said Eric Chinje, AMI’s Chief Executive Officer, upon his return to Nairobi from Madrid. Spain, he said, is one of a growing list of players that is looking for a foothold in the African media market and it is praiseworthy that is it seeking to do so in partnership with media professionals on the continent

The Madrid seminar, attended by more than 300 media leaders, field based correspondents, diplomats, government officials, and university lecturers as well as students, reflected on the current coverage of Africa by Spanish media and on how this could be improved. At a time of growing interest in Africa, the gathering was told, Spanish media, as a relatively new player on the continent, had an opportunity to provide leadership and project a more realistic Africa to its readers and audiences. “Africa realism” became a catch-phrase that pervaded the conference deliberations.